Furballs, Minerva?
by TartanLioness
Summary: What is Minerva hiding in her napkin?
1. Default Chapter

Title: Furballs?

Author: Tartan Lioness

Classification: Humor!

Set: Anytime! After Minerva became a teacher, that is!

Summary: What is Minerva hiding in her napkin?

Warning: none!

A/N: I have no idea where this came from. Other than lack of sleep (Lily!), my cat and my dear dear Min! And lots of thank-yous and Ginger Newts to ADandMM4eva for beta-ing!

Sitting at the Head Table one evening, having dinner with the rest of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, Professor Minerva McGonagall raised her napkin and coughed vigorously into it. As she laid it to rest in her lap a bit later, still folded a bit around where she'd been holding, she picked a small hair out of her mouth.

Interested by her sudden cough, Albus had turned to his Deputy and now looked at her in interest, then looking down at the napkin in her lap. "My dear," he inquired, "are you coughing up furballs?"

She looked at him in sheer horror, then lowered her gaze, embarrased she'd been caught. Albus cluckled, but when she looked back up into his eyes, he stopped. The look in her eyes told him that she was furious. "Yes, I do! So what? YOU try to be a cat!" And with that she stormed out, leaving a grinning Albus and a very confused staff and student body behind.

**The End!**

A/N: Review please! I'll give you a rose!Red, white, yellow, black... whatever!


	2. Some explanation to do, eh, Albus?

A/N: Well, now I've decided when this is set; post OotP. Second and last chapter to 'Furballs, Minerva?'…

Albus sat, grinning for a few moments, then he rose. "Continue eating," he said and the students turned away from the doors and concentrated on their food, as Albus sat back down.

After dinner Albus went to Minerva's office. He assumed she'd be there. She wasn't. He continued searching for her.

Flashback 

As Minerva left the Great Hall she transformed into a cat. She was horrified that Albus had discovered her little secret. She had been coughing up furballs for many years now, usually only once or twice every three months and she'd never been found out. She had always managed to hide it and it mostly happened when she was in her feline form. Being a cat had many pros. But also a lot of cons!

End Flashback 

And now she was roaming the grounds of Hogwarts, free of any obligations, free of any responsibilities! She loved to do this, just run, not caring, not worrying… As a teacher and an important member of the Order with the return of Voldemort it was not often she did not worry.

She suspected Albus would go looking for her and she didn't really want to face him yet.

She ran towards the Forest, still as a cat. She ran to a place, which had been _her_ place since she was a student. It was a clearing. A small, light clearing, covered in grass.

She transformed back into her human self and threw herself in the grass. Even in her school days she had loved this place and had come out here to relax and be herself. None of her friends had known and none of them knew now. Poppy Pomfrey, Rolanda Hooch and Minerva McGonagall. The Inseperable Three. _We were hat time's Golden Trio_, thought Minerva.

When Minerva opened her eyes again she looked up into the starlit sky. She sat up with a jolt. _What? What time is it?_

She looked around and transformed into a cat. As a silver tabby she sprinted towards the giant Castle just as the bell sounded, _one… two… three?_ She hurried even more.

Minerva reaced her chambers and turned back into a human being. After saying her password to the gargoyle she made her way up the few stairs to her private chambers. But she stopped abruptly when she entered her livingroom. There, in her favorite chair, sat Albus Dumbledore, softly snoring. She felt a gentle smile spread across her face. She never really had the opportunity to study his features. He had worry-lines of course. The man had survived two major wars and was well on his way to survive a third. But they were softened as he slept and he looked much younger than he was.

Minerva walked over and bent down, taking off Albus' halfmoon spectacles. Her hand caressed his face while he slept.

This was the man she had loved in silence for four decades.

She had respected and admired him when she was his student but when she came back to teach she fell in love with him. They became fast friends and she grew to admire and respect him even more. She treasured his friendship over anything else in the world and she didn't want to ruin that by telling him of her feelings.

But as he sat in her chair, sleeping, all of her feelings came out from under her façade. Absent-mindedly she kept stroking his cheek while thinking of their many years together.

"Minerva?" She jumped at the sound of his voice. Her hand still on his cheek, she looked into his warm iceblue eyes. Then she blushed, dropped her hand and lowered her gaze to the floor.

"I'm sorry, Albus. I didn't mean to wake you," she said, still not looking at him.

"That's okay, my dear. But I am the one who needs to apogise. I should not have asked you in such an untactful way.I was simply surprised. I did not know that your other form would affect you like this. I'm truly sorry," Albus said, looking like he really was sorry.

"It doesn't mean anything, Albus. I just haven't been feeling well lately because of this and when I started coughingI was horrified. It usually only happens when I'm a cat. And when you said what you did I just snapped. I'm sorry, Albus. I should not have taken it out on you. Can you forgive me?"

"Minerva you don't need to ask for my forgiveness. You'll never do anything bad enough to not get it from me imediately. Nothing you can ever do will ever change the fact that I trust your judgement. But if you ever need to talk, you can always come to me. Do you understand?Come to me! No matter for what reason or what time. I will be here for you, my love." Albus didn't realize he'd spoken the endearment until after it was out of his mouth. Minerva's eyes widened.

"Wh-what did you say?" He blushed.

"I will be here for you, Minerva," Albus replied, hoping to cover up his slip. Love. Yes, that was what he called her when no one, not even she, was around. He had known for a long time that she was the love of his life but he always restrained himself from calling her 'Love' when she or others were around. The only ones who knew were Fawkes and Aberforth.

"No, Albus. You didn't call me Minerva. What did you say?" She put on her sternest teacher expression. Albus looked at his hands.

"My love," he quietly answered. Minerva gulped. Did he… could he possibly…? Had they wasted all these years?

She gathered all her, now seemingly nonexistent, Gryffindor courage and said, "Am I? Am I your love?" She was pale, very pale. But hope was evident in her eyes. And the hope gave Albus the courage to say his next words, "Yes, you have been the love of my life for forty years, Minerva."

Minerva's jaw dropped. While she had been dreaming of this day for decades, she wasn't prepared for the power of the love that shone from his eyes. "Albus… I love you so much! I have for decades but I never dared to hope that you might love me." She locked eyes with him, letting all her love for him shine in her deep emerald pools. "I love you, Albus."

Albus quickly rose from the chair and grabed her around the waist, lifted her and swung her around. "Put me down you crackpot old fool!" laughed Minerva.

"As you wish, my Minerva," he replied, putting her down and then leaning closer. When his nose was almost touching hers, she groaned with impatience and pulled his head down so she could meet his lips with hers.

As his lips moved against hers they both felt the love, which had been pent up in all these years. All the years of denying their love disappeared and they were merely two people hopelessly in love.

"Forty years, Albus. Forty years! Wasted!" said Minerva as they broke apart.

"No, my love. Not wasted. We may not have used them to their fullest but they were not wasted. We have had an amazing friendship, which I would not have been without! I love you Minerva, I always have, but our friendship has meant that we now know each other. We trust each other. And we still have plenty of time. You're still young and you'll live until you're at least 200. I'm much older, Minerva, but now that I have you to live for, I don't think I'll be going anywhere soon." He smiled. Then he softly kissed her. "I love you, Minerva McGonagall."

Minerva smiled gently. "You're right, Albus. I know you are. And I love you too. So very much!" She summoned a house elf and asked for wine and two glasses. As the wine and glasses appeared on the table in front of them, Minerva poured them both a glass and held one up for Albus to take.

"To a new future, Albus. Ours."

**THE END!!**


End file.
